Releasable loop belt

ABSTRACT

A belt comprising a strap having at one end a removable buckle carrying a utilitarian appendage and a strap end retaining loop adjacent said one end for retaining the other end of the strap, said loop being adapted to open readily upon an outward pull on said other end of the strap to permit faster release of the appendage-carrying buckle.

United States Patent 1 Schiller 1 1 RELEASABLE LOOP BELT [76] Inventor: Barry Schiller, 911 Crestview, North Woodmere, NY. 11581 22 Filed: Aug. 8, 1974 21 Appl.No.:495,88l

52 Us. on. 2/321; 224/5 R 51 Int. Cl. A4lf 9/00 [58] Field of Search 2/300-338;

24/77 R, 163 KO, 77 S, 208 R, 186; 224/5 R, 1R,1A, l B,2D,26E,20;7/l R, 1 B, l C, 1 A, 14.25, 14.6; 30/143, 151, 296 R, 298, 299

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,777,315 12/1973 Norfolk ..2/321 1 May 27, 1975 7/1974 Collins ..2/321 7/1974 Forgett 2/321 Primary ExaminerGeo. V. Larkin Attorney, Agent, or FirmSamson B. Leavitt 57 ABSTRACT A belt comprising a strap having at one end a removable buckle carrying a utilitarian appendage and a strap end retaining loop adjacent said one end for retaining the other end of the strap, said loop being adapted to openreadily upon an outward pull on said other end of the strap to permit faster release of the appendage-carrying buckle.

8 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures RELEASABLE LOOP BELT This invention relates to belts and related articles suitable for encirling bodies and articles and the like, and more particularly, to belts adapted for and/or provided with a readily removable buckle carrying an appendage suitable for any desired use.

There have been recently disclosed belts provided with a readily removable buckle having a knife-shaped appendage, desirably contoured to fit the waist curve of the human body, wherebythe buckle is made readily available for purposes of self-defense and the like. Reference is made for example to advertisements in the lower half of each of pages 67 and 69 of Gun World magazine, June, 1974, published by Gallant Publishing Company, Inc., Capistrano Beach, Calif., which advertisements are herewith incorporated by such reference. A belt is therein disclosed provided at the buckle end with a sheath on the inner surface into which the knife appendage of the buckle is inserted. At the juncture of the said appendage and the strap-receiving opening, the buckle is provided with an outwardly projecting prong which is pressed into a corresponding hole in the buckle end of the strap after the buckle is inserted in the sheath, thereby holding the buckle in place during use of the belt on the body. The buckle end of the strap is also provided with a strap-retaining loop. The other end of the strap is provided with the usual holes, one of which is pressed onto the same prong when the belt is put into use by passing said other end of the strap outwardly through the strap-receiving opening of the buckle and through the strap-retaining loop.

When the function of the knife appendage is required, the said other end of the strap is withdrawn from said loop, pulled outwardly from said prong, and then pulled back through the strap-receiving opening in the buckle. The prong on the buckle is then withdrawn from the hole in the buckle end of the strap and the buckle pulled from the sheath.

Although the above-described device is undeniably useful, its use has been found to involve an important disadvantage, namely the delay inherent in the steps necessary to remove the buckle, which delay may be critical when immediate need for the knife appendage arises.

It is an object of this invention to provide a device which will be less subject to the above disadvantage. Another object of the invention is the provision of a device of the above-described type permitting the said appendage-carrying buckle to be removed more quickly and with less delay. Other objects and advantages will appear as the description proceeds.

The attainment of the above objects is made possible by my invention which broadly comprises the provision of a belt of the above-described type with a strap-end retaining loop adjacent the buckle end of the strap, which loop is adapted to open readily upon an outward pull on the other end (being retained) on the strap. More particularly, my invention includes, in a belt comprising a removable buckle having a strap receiving portion connected to a longitudinally extended appendage, and provided with outwardly facing prong means and a strap having at one end an inwardly facing sheath and prong receiving opening means, the appendage of said buckle being inserted in said sheath with said prong means projecting outwardly through said opening means said end being further provided with an outwardly facing loop for retaining the other end of the strap, said other end being provided with at least one opening for receiving said prong means, the,

improvement wherein said loop is adapted to open readily upon outward pull on said other end of said strap.

It has been found that the improved structure of the present invention significantly reduces the length of time entailed in removing the appendage-carrying buckle by eliminating the previously required step of first withdrawing the non-buckle bearing end of the strap back through the loop.

The above brief description, as well as further objects, features and advantages of the present invention, will be more fully appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments in accordance with the present invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view, looking outwardly, of one embodiment of the invention with the releasable buckle shown in the released position, and

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, also looking outwardly, of the embodiment of FIG. 1, but showing the buckle engaging the strap.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing in which one embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. A removable buckle 10 is provided having a strap receiving portion 12 connected to a longitudinally extended appendage 14. Outwardly facing (away from the viewer in FIG. 1) prong 18 is provided, attached to buckle 10 in the vicinity of the connection between items 12 and 15, the prong 18 projecting substantially perpendicularly away from buckle 10. In addition, a strap 20 is provided having at one end thereof a prong receiving opening 22, an inwardly facing sheath 24, and a tab 26 which becomes a strap end retaining loop when it is wrapped outwardly (away from the viewer in the drawing) around strap 20 and inserted into notch 28 in sheath 24 (as best seen in in FIG. 2). The other end of strap 20 is provided with openings 30 for receiving prong 18. Sheath 24 is fastened to strap 20 by means such as stitching 32 along its longitudinal edges. It should be noted that notch 28 formed in sheath 24 allows the free end of tab 26 to be inserted into sheath 24 even through the stitching or other fastening means is run continuously along the longitudinal edges of sheat 24. Tab 26 is fastened at one end to strap 20 by the same stitching 32 as is used to fasten sheath 24, being preferably inserted under the edge of sheath 24 prior to stitching and then stitching through sheath 24, tab 26 and strap 20. The end of sheath 24 nearest to hole 22 is left open while the other end may be closed.

To use the belt embodying the instant invention buckle 10 is moved to the left as viewed in FIG. 1 and the appendage 14 is inserted into the open end of sheath 1 24 nearest opening 22 until prong 18 is aligned with opening 22. Prong 18 is then pushed through opening 22 so that it projects outwardly from the other side of strap 20, the length of prong 18 being selected to allow a substantial length thereof, preferably at least one strap thickness, to project clear of strap 20. Tab 26 is formed into a strap end retaining loop by wrapping it around strap 20 (away from the viewer in the drawing) and inserting the free end into notch 28 in sheath 24. This can be done before or after insertion of appendage 14 into sheath 24. The end of strap 20 provided with openings 30, after encircling the body to be belted, is inserted outwardly through strap receiving portion 12 of buckle and through the strap end retaining loop formed by Tab 26 (as described above) until prong 18 becomes aligned with and protrudes outwardly through one of the openings 30.

It will be understood that in the belt of the present invention, the buckle may be provided with a plurality of prong means, with corresponding prong receiving openings in both ends of the strap. The sheath should be so made and attached as to provide a sung fit when both the appendage end of the buckle and the free end of tab 26 is inserted therein, in order to maintain both the buckle and the said free end in position in the sheath during use of the belt. The sheath material may be fastened to the strap by other means than stitching, such as rivets, staples, eyelets, and the like. Instead of a notch in the sheath, other means may be employed to releasably hold the free end of tab 26, such as a loop or second sheath on the inner surface of the strap or sheath 24, snap fasteners attached to the outer surface of the strap, and the like. Further, the loop may be unattached to the strap and made openable by the described outward pull by any desired means, for example, by forming it from a strip of material, one end of which is provided with a loop or sheath for releasably holding the other end. The appendage receiving sheath 24 may be self-sustaining and complete in itself (e.g. flattened tube) and may be releasably attached to the surface of the strap with, for example, snap fasteners whereby both it and the appendage-bearing buckle may be entirely separated from the strap when so desired.

It will be understood that the strap, sheath and loop may be composed of any suitable strong flexible material such as leather, flexible plastic or fiberglass sheet, natural or synthetic fibrous fabric, or the like, and that the buckle and prong may be composed of any suitably strong rigid material such as metal, hard plastic or plastic-impregnated fiber-glass or other such impregnated fibrous material or the like.

The said appendage may be, instead of a knife, any other desired instrument or tool, such as culinary, hardware, carpentry, mechanics tools, a key, whistle or other signaling device, shoe horn, etc. On the other hand, the appendage end may be the handle, and the strap receiving portion the instrument or tool such as a bottle opener.

This invention has been disclosed with respect to certain preferred embodiments, and it will be understood that various modifications and variations thereof which will be obvious to a worker of ordinary skill in the art are to be included within the spirit and purview of this application and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a belt comprising a removable buckle having a strap receiving portion connected to a longitudinally extended appendage and provided with outwardly facing prong means, and a strap having at one end an inwardly facing sheath and prong receiving opening means, the appendage of said buckle being inserted in said sheath with said prong means projecting outwardly through said opening means, said end being further provided with an outwardly loop for retaining the other end of the strap, said other end being provided with at least one opening for receiving said prong means, the improvement wherein said loop is adapted to open readily upon outward pull on said other end of said strap.

2. A belt as defined in claim 1 wherein one end of said loop is fastened to said strap and the other end of said loop is releasably attached to said strap, whereby said loop opens readily upon application of said outward pull.

3. A belt as defined in claim 2 wherein, said other end of said loop is releasably attached by insertion into a second sheath on said strap.

4. A belt as defined in claim 2 wherein said other end of said loop is releasably attached by insertion into an opening in said sheath.

5. A belt as defined in claim 4 wherein said one end of said loop is fastened to said strap adjacent one longitudinal edge thereof, and said other end of said loop is releasably attached by insetion into an opening in said sheath adjacent the other longitudinal edge of said strap.

6. A belt as defined in claim 5 wherein said opening in said sheath adjacent the other longitudinal edge of said strap is formed by notching said sheath on the edge thereof corresponding to said other longitudinal edge of said strap.

7. A belt as defined in claim 6 wherein said sheath is fastened to said strap by fastening means adjacent both longitudinal edges of said strap, and said one end of said loop is fastened to said strap by the same fastening means.

8. A belt as defined in claim 7 wherein said fastening means does not fasten said sheath to said strap in the vicinity of the notch formed in said sheath. 

1. In a belt comprising a removable buckle having a strap receiving portion connected to a longitudinally extended appendage and provided with outwardly facing prong means, and a strap having at one end an inwardly facing sheath and prong receiving opening means, the appendage of said buckle being inserted in said sheath with said prong means projecting outwardly through said opening means, said end being further provided with an outwardly loop for retaining the other end of the strap, said other end being provided with at least one opening for receiving said prong means, the improvement wherein said loop is adapted to open readily upon outward pull on said other end of said strap.
 2. A belt as defined in claim 1 wherein one end of said loop is fastened to said strap and the other end of said loop is releasably attached to said strap, whereby said loop opens readily upon application of said outward pull.
 3. A belt as defined in claim 2 wherein, said other end of said loop is releasably attached by insertion into a second sheath on said strap.
 4. A belt as defined in claim 2 wherein said other end of said loop is releasably attached by insertion into an opening in said sheath.
 5. A belt as defined in claim 4 wherein said one end of said loop is fastened to said strap adjacent one longitudinal edge thereof, and said other end of said loop is releasably attached by insetion into an opening in said sheath adjacent the other longitudinal edge of said strap.
 6. A belt as defined in claim 5 wherein said opening in said sheath adjacent the other longitudinal edge of said strap is formed by notching said sheath on the edge thereof corresponding to said other longitudinal edge of said strap.
 7. A belt as defined in claim 6 wherein said sheath is fastened to said strap by fastening means adjacent both longitudinal edges of said strap, and said one end of said loop is fastened to said strap by the same fastening means.
 8. A belt as defined in claim 7 wherein said fastening means does not fasten said sheath to said strap in the vicinity of the notch formed in said sheath. 